DeWine now more firm on driver's license dispute

After a "better review of the law" that confirmed what he first thought to be true, Attorney General Mike DeWine now firmly believes Ohio law would allow driver’s licenses to immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

If someone can bring forth the documents and meets the requirements the BMV asks for when reviewing driver’s license applicants, the law says the BMV “would have to accept that application,” DeWine said today after a news event.

On Feb. 8, DeWine told The Dispatch he had only initial reviewed the federal policy, but his “first glance” led him to think the BMV should accept driver’s license applications for people who meet the qualifications for the federal government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative — a program that essentially promises not to deport those who qualify for a two-year period.

Yesterday DeWine sent a letter to Jose Mendez, an immigration activist from the Cleveland area who qualifies for the federal initiative. It read:

The initiative does not specifically address driver’s licenses, but it does authorize an individual to be present in the United States and allows that individual to be assigned a social security number and a work permit. With these documents and any other documents normally required by the BMV, an individual can provide the BMV with the information necessary to receive a driver’s license.

It appears that the BMV would have to accept driver’s license applications from individuals that fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative because they can provide all of the information necessary.

Employees at the BMV's main location on W. Broad Street in Columbus have been instructed not to issue licenses to those individuals until the Department of Public Safety's legal department says the federal policy applies to Ohio law, said Joe Andrews, spokesman for the department.

The official BMV directive coincides with a Feb. 8 story on the BMV's unclear policy published in The Dispatch. Until then, some people were getting licenses while others were denied. Deputy registrars throughout the state are allowed to determine their own policy for granting licenses.

Senate Democrats introduced a bill this month that would make it plain: the BMV must accept applications from DACA participants.

And when Democrats tried and failed to add amendment to the state’s transportation bill last week that had similar language, Sen, Bill Seitz, a Republican from Cincinnati, noted that Ohio law demands legal status of driver’s license applicants, while the federal government grants DACA participants legal presence. He said there is “uncertainty” regarding the difference.

“It would be very unwise to, on the fly here, amend our transportation bill when there is so much misinformation about the critical difference between lawful status and lawful presence,” Seitz said.

Lindsey Bohrer, a BMV spokeswoman, previously told The Dispatch the bureau was “in the process of reviewing guidance from the federal government as it applies to Ohio law,” and Andrews said yesterday that DeWine’s argument doesn’t alter the department’s course of action.

“We appreciate what the Attorney General has stated in the letter and will take it into consideration when making a decision,” he said.

DeWine said he has not been asked by the department or the BMV for his opinion and doesn’t know why they’ve chosen to ask a legal department instead of his office. He added that it the BMV’s ultimate decision will be a difficult one.

“It’s a close call because the federal government didn’t address driver’s licenses, but my decision comes after a better reading of the law,” he said.